C

Lawful Permanent Employment-Based Immigration Visas and Adjustments

The certification that gives the right to an employer to hire non-US citizens as foreign workers to permanently work in the United States is issued by DOL (Department of Labor), and is called ‘permanent labor certification’. The employer is the person to initiate the application, most often through either PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) or labor certification process with the DOL, Employment and Training Administration. Although there are five defined categories for employment-based permanent residency in the United States, certain employment categories do not require a labor certification process.

The five employment-based permanent residency categories mostly concern skilled and high-skilled employees, religious workers and investors. Briefly described, the categories are as follows:

EB-1

You are part of this category, if you are an international executive or manager, outstanding researcher or professor, person of extraordinary ability in the arts, business, sciences, education, or athletics, a person of exceptional ability or advanced degree in the arts, business or sciences, or others considered priority workers.

EB-2

You are included in this category, if you are a professional with exceptional ability or an advanced degree in the arts, sciences or business or if you are a qualified physician who is practicing medicine in under-served areas of the US.

EB-3

If you are a skilled or professional worker, foreign national with bachelor’s degree not qualifying for the EB-1 and EB-2 categories, a skilled worker with not less than two years of experience and training, or an unskilled worker, you may refer to this category.

EB-4

If you are an immigrant who is currently employed or has worked for the US Government in overseas capacities, or if you are a foreign national religious worker you may apply for this category of employment-based immigration visa.

EB-5

You are part of this category if you are an individual investor, planning to invest at least 1 million US dollars in new commercial enterprises in the United States, that would provide not less than 10 workers with full-time jobs, or you are intending to invest at least 500 thousand US dollars in certain targeted-employment areas.

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